Force 5 Development

Introduction

Welcome to the beta release of Color Palette Builder! This application is primarily functional, but there are some known bugs and features in settings that are not yet complete. This beta is focused on refining the application’s usability and validating its usefulness for users in fields like web design and game development. Your testing will help us understand how the app works in real-world scenarios and identify any pain points or unexpected behaviors.

Why Beta Testing Matters

In a beta release, the primary goal is to evaluate whether the application successfully addresses tasks that users need or want. While finding bugs is essential, please focus on whether the app conceptually meets your needs as a user. Rather than prioritizing the discovery of unfinished features, concentrate on the overall user experience, utility, and intuitiveness of the application.

Application Purpose

Color Palette Builder is geared toward developers and designers who work with color schemes—whether for websites, games, or other design projects. It enables you to store color codes (e.g., hex or RGB values) in a searchable list, then copy or extract those values to your project. Key features include creating custom categories, organizing colors by state or group, and generating predefined or custom code snippets for easy integration.

Testing Purpose

• Usability & Intuitiveness: How easy is the app to use and understand? Does the interface make sense, or are there any confusing aspects?
• Functionality & Bugs: Testing for issues in how features function and behave. Feel free to explore and push the app in unexpected ways—edge cases can reveal bugs we may not anticipate.
• Feature Feedback: Suggestions for improving existing features are welcome, though new feature requests are less of a priority at this stage.

Detailed Feedback Examples

Bug Reporting:

Example: "When using the color picker tool twice in a row to select colors from an image, the app occasionally crashes."

Ideal Level of Detail: Describe what you were doing, any error messages that appeared, and whether it’s repeatable.

Usability Feedback:

Example: "It wasn’t clear how to save a custom color; making the save button more prominent might help."

Ideal Level of Detail: Describe the experience step-by-step, especially if something felt unintuitive.

Appendix - Example Elements

Save some brain power and use my example elements and state / group names while testing.

View Appendix

Core Functionalities & Testing Tasks

Finding & Installing the Application

• Search for the app in the Windows Store using terms like “Color Palette”
• Also use direct link
• Note any difficulties in finding or installing the app, and review the store description and product images for clarity.

Color Management

• Add Colors: Use the color picker to add a new color, name it, and save the palette to disk.
• Build a Palette: Add at least 10 unique colors, naming each one. Experiment with creating filtering categories (e.g., Element States, Element Groups) and assign colors accordingly.
• Filtering: Use filters to display specific groups or states, and then clear filters to view all colors.
• Modify Colors: Edit an existing color, reassign it, and test copy functions for hex and RGB values with/without alpha values.

Image Integration

• Extract Colors from Images: Drag and drop a picture to the color selector. Remove the image, then re-add it using the file browser.
• Color Selection from Images: Select colors directly from the image pixels and save them in your palette.

Settings

• Theme: Test the dark theme setting (the only implemented option).
• Color Entry Options: Toggle “Wrap Text” for long notes in color entries, using example notes if needed, to see the display changes.
• Auto-Save: Set different auto-save intervals and verify functionality by checking if changes persist after closing and reopening the app.
• Backup Save: Ensure the backup file is created. Explore ways to recover data from the backup file by manually renaming it as needed.

Shortcut & Customization Settings

• Copy Shortcuts: Test copying hex codes with and without hashtags and observe differences.
• Code Snippets: Try predefined code snippets, ensuring the main window updates accordingly when selecting colors. Create a custom snippet following instructions and provide feedback on the clarity of instructions.

Backup & Restore

• Backup File Location: Find the backup file location using the path provided in settings. Open the backup file in the app to confirm it loads correctly.
• Save As/Restore: Use “Save As” to save the backup under a new file name and location. Describe how easy it is to locate and restore the backup.

Feedback

Please provide any suggestions for improving this document or testing process.